Ginger Nielson tells a soothing folktale set deep in the forest. When Little Bear asks, “Where did the stars come from?” Mother Bear leans in closely to share a Native American legend from “the far, far north.” Illustrations rich in deep nighttime colors create a peaceful visual to the comforting story of a man, made of stars and the branches of pines, who forever continues to spread starlight across the night sky. This man is known as the Star Giver.

“His gifts are hidden under an enormous cloak. Yet the starlight beneath sparkles through and lights his way wherever he wanders.”

Each night, the Star Giver travels through the forest to the sea. When he reaches the shoreline he opens his cloak and allows the wind to blow his stars into the aquatic scenery.

About the Author

Ginger Nielson lives at the top of a hill, near the edge of a forest in semi-rural New Hampshire, USA. There is a magic wand on her desk, a dragon in her basement, and a tiny elephant in her studio. Everything else is nearly normal. Coming to the world of children’s illustration a bit later in life, Ginger was an elementary school teacher and art teacher before becoming a travel agent. Both of those careers enabled her to connect deeply with many children and many different cultures. To date she has illustrated over 45 children’s books. She is busy creating illustrations for other authors and writing and illustrating her own stories as well.

THE STAR GIVER

It’s time for bed and Little Bear looks up into the sky and asks Mother Bear where the stars come from. Little Bear must close his eyes and listen carefully as Mother Bear tells the story of the Star Giver, a man made of stars and branches of pines.

“The Star Giver” by Ginger Nielson is a beautiful story to read to young children when it’s time for bed. Not only did Miles love reading the book, he loved the illustrations. A few pages in, Miles said that “we need one of those on Earth.” (He has quite the fascination with knowing that we live on planet Earth.) When I asked him what he loves best about the book, Miles replied that he loves the bears and the man with the stars in his coat (cloak).

“The Star Giver” is a brilliant take on what to tell children when they ask where the stars come from. The story is told by Mother Bear to Little Bear at bedtime and explains how the Star Giver tosses the stars into the sea and the sea tosses the stars into the sky so that creatures below can sleep peacefully.

Bedtime can be such a hassle with young children and I surely have this issue with Miles almost daily. We like to read a book before bed and I always try to select a book that is calm and that will lead Miles into understanding that we need to rest for the next day. Having such a peaceful story to read to Miles is always at the top of my list.

“The Star Giver” by Ginger Nielson will be a go-to book for many nights to come, I can already tell as Miles has had me read the story to him more than once. Ginger Nielson is a talented author and illustrator and I hope that she has more books in store. I highly recommend this title to others as “The Star Giver” is surely a fresh new way to look at the stars.

Welcome to my Journal

Welcome to my illustrator's journal. This is a glimpse into the world I inhabit most of the day. I live at the top of a hill near the edge of a forest.
There is a magic wand on my desk and a dragon in my basement.